This fluorescent dye could create clearer biological imaging

[Image from MIT]

Massachusetts researchers have repurposed a commercially-available dye that has been around since the 1950s to make short-wave infrared easily available for clearer imaging.

Fluorescence imaging is often used to visualize biological tissues or blood vessels during reconstructive surgery to see if vessels are connected properly. Currently, researchers use a dye that runs at the near-infrared (NIR) level of the light spectrum that gets imaged through a specialized camera that can pick up that light that runs at 700 to 900 nanometers.

Researchers have recently found that light running at more than 1,000 nanometers, known as short-wave infrared (SWIR), gives clearer images than NIR. However, there are no FDA-approved fluorescence dyes with peak emission that can run at the SWIR range.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

The post This fluorescent dye could create clearer biological imaging appeared first on MassDevice.

from MassDevice https://ift.tt/2Hd0qR8